CMOs Give Thanks For ...

I’m thankful this Thanksgiving for cappuccino- and latte-ready Keurig coffee cups — so I don’t have to add cream and sugar like a Neanderthal.

What am I really thankful for, though? Living near world-class Boston hospitals. Access to food, water and medicine whenever I want it. A roof over my head. Family. And health.

Do we need anything more?

I’m also thankful for PR agencies, my daily best friends. Seriously, it’s a rough job trying to get people to say things about your client. I spoke with some PR reps this month and could not believe the stuff they contend with from cranky reporters. Hey reporters, give your PR pals some love for once.

With that, we asked some CMOs what they're thankful for this year:

Thankful For …

Matt Schmeltz, CMO, CloudCraze

I am thankful to have had the opportunity to reconnect with several of my Acquity Group co-founders in our latest endeavor, CloudCraze. I'm fortunate to work with some of the most innovative and forward-thinking minds in the industry, and I know there is a bright future ahead for our company. We live in a incredibly vibrant tech community in Chicago, and the city is feeding us with impressive talent and awesome customers. It's been a great year for our team, and we've got big plans in store for 2016.

I am also thankful for my loving, supporting family. I've made quite a few leaps in my business journey, and they've always been there to support me and come along for the ride.

Joanna O’Connell, CMO, MediaMath

As a CMO, I’m thankful for the breakthroughs surrounding the false dichotomy between privacy and relevancy. We’ve finally stopped telling consumers, intentionally or not, that they have to choose between “privacy” and “relevancy.” Those two choices are not antithetical, but that’s how the story has been told.

Most marketers have made privacy and targeting a priority for some time and are already engaging in advertising that is both privacy-aware and relevant, but customers haven’t always been aware that those are marketers’ intentions.

Now, however, we are changing the conversation to the value of relevant, over irrelevant, advertising that is not mutually exclusive to customers' privacy in a world where advertising is a basic reality. This is allowing marketers to have a much more fruitful dialog with our current and future customers.

Dan Gilmartin, CMO, BlueConic

In an increasingly complex and competitive software segment, I am thankful for our customers. These are organizations that understand the systemic and organizational challenges they face in an ever-evolving digital landscape and have adopted BlueConic to be part of their solution.

Our customers continuously raise our bar of performance to deliver above and beyond expectations. The trust that they have in us is not taken lightly. We exist for and because of our customers. Our success is tied to theirs.

I deeply appreciate how our customers push our platform, providing great insights on how to improve the product as well as sharing ideas for new features and use cases they’d like us to develop. Seeing how we are impacting their businesses provides ongoing motivation to continue to innovate so we can continue to help drive better outcomes. To all of our current and future customers, thank you.

Gitte Sandlykke, CMO, TARGIT

Naturally, I am extremely thankful for my family, health and safety.

Looking at my professional life, I also have much to be thankful for as CMO of TARGIT business intelligence. I am grateful for the opportunity to work in a fast-paced industry and at a very agile company that provides access to new technologies and an abundance of data that guide my team and I in making the best decisions for the company.

Not all CMOs have unlimited ways to measure the difference activities make internally for sales teams and externally for customers; I am grateful to be one of them. I am also thankful to work with a top-notch team. Each unique member of the TARGIT family holds very different and complimentary qualities, and I am thankful for the differences of every individual because those differences are what produce great results. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Scott Vaughan, CMO, Integrate

Thanksgiving is always good time to reflect on what you are thankful for and, as appropriate, share with people that matter. Here are some things I have reflected on as we come to T-day and the close of 2015:

Health and general happiness for me and all the people closest to me (this was not from a Fortune cookie, I swear!)

Talented and passionate professionals I work with every day, including the inspiring (and fun!) people I banter with and compare and share notes with in the marketing and tech community

The fact I get to use both sides of my brain — creative and analytical every day

No-value phrases we use like “unicorns,” “customer journey” and “modern marketing" are starting to diminish; maybe more hopeful than thankful.

Julie Ginches, CMO, Kahuna

I am grateful for so many things this year. But three things quickly come to mind.

First there's my family, for providing the support I needed to take on the CMO role in Silicon Valley. The bi-coastal life — I still have a home in Boston — is not always easy, but with their help and understanding, I'm making it happen.

Second, there's my marketing team, one of the best I've ever had, with some of the hottest talent across all the big disciplines: product marketing, demand generation, content, corporate marketing, events.

Finally, I am thankful for the organization — Kahuna — that hired me in this role. Kahuna is not just a great place to work, but it's on a mission to change how marketing is done. It's not often you get the opportunity to do something like this. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I am grateful for that.

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